A Denial Aimed Squarely at Recycled Concept Art
Toei Animation posted the statement to its corporate site on August 31 under the title "Our Position on Reports of Dragon Ball Theme Park Construction in France," as covered by Japanese entertainment news outlet Oricon News. The company's wording leaves little room for interpretation: neither Toei Animation nor the franchise's rights holders have granted "any license whatsoever" for the reported project, and the company says it is not aware of any facts behind the story.
The statement also tackles the visuals that gave the reports their credibility. According to Toei, every concept image and video used in the French coverage comes from the joint announcement it made with Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya Investment Company on March 22, 2024. Those materials depict the Dragon Ball theme park planned for Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia, and Toei says they have no connection whatsoever to the France reports.
How the France Story Started
The rumor kicked off on August 25, when overseas outlets reported that an entertainment facility themed on the manga Dragon Ball could be built in the Paris suburbs. The reports followed a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in which the two sides agreed to build three theme parks outside Paris. French local media then reported that one of the three would be a Dragon Ball facility.
Macron himself promoted the deal on X, calling it "an unprecedented announcement" made together with Saudi Arabia: three theme parks in Cergy-Pontoise, backed by a €6 billion (approx. $7 billion) investment and creating 22,000 jobs, at a scale he said hadn't been seen since Disneyland Paris. Notably, the Dragon Ball claim came from local media reports, not from Macron's post, which never named the franchise.
The Real Dragon Ball Park Is Rising in Saudi Arabia
The project the recycled images actually belong to is a very real one. Per the official Dragon Ball site, the Qiddiya City park is billed as the world's only Dragon Ball theme park, covering more than 500,000 square meters with seven themed zones recreating locations from the series, including Kame House, Capsule Corporation, and Beerus's Planet. It promises more than 30 attractions, headlined by a 70-meter-tall Shenron structure with a roller coaster running through it.
That park was announced in March 2024 as part of Qiddiya, the entertainment mega-city being built outside Riyadh. It remains the only Dragon Ball theme park with an actual license attached.
What's Next
Toei Animation's statement stops at the denial. It doesn't say whether the company has been in contact with the French side, and it announces nothing new about the Qiddiya project. No opening date for the Saudi park appears in the official announcement.
As for France, the three-park agreement between Macron and Saudi Arabia still stands as reported, but what those Cergy-Pontoise parks will actually be themed around is now an open question. If a licensed Dragon Ball park ever does land in Europe, expect the news to come from Toei Animation itself rather than from a press leak. For now, fans wanting to walk into Kame House in person should keep their eyes on Saudi Arabia, not Paris.